Many young people start their traveling curriculum doing the famous Interrail in Europe during the summer holidays. The perfect time to take a cheap and fun trip with friends while visiting several European countries on board a train.
To travel on Interrail, the first thing to be clear about is what type of trip you want to do, the season of the year in which you are going to travel and how many days the trip will last. Depending on these premises, it will be easier to choose the ticket with which we will travel through several countries.
If you are planning to do Interrail soon, then We tell you everything you need to know to travel Europe by train by train.
What is InterRail?
It is a ticket that allows you to get on all the trains you want to travel through different countries for a specified time. In Spain, the Interrail ticket can be purchased through Renfe, which offers promotions in both spring and autumn.
What types of InterRail tickets are there?
The range of Interrail passes includes the Interrail Global Pass and Interrail One Country Pass. In the case of the InterRail Global Pass, the ticket can be used 5 days in a period of 10 (without having to be consecutive) or 10 days in a period of 22. In the case of choosing the One Country Pass, the options are more flexible since you can use it 3, 4, 6 or 8 days in a period of one month.
InterRail ticket prices
Prices vary depending on age, chosen areas and travel days. With the Global Pass you can visit 30 countries from 192 euros. On the other hand, the One Country Pass, from 42 euros, opens the doors to a single country. My advice is that you choose the Global Pass, which includes many countries, and see the days you need for your trip but if you want to visit some small Central European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (one of the most chosen routes ) it is best to buy several One Country Pass because it is cheaper.
Where can I buy the InterRail ticket?
The Interrail ticket can be purchased in Spain through Renfe three months before the date of the first day of validity. Once purchased, the ticket is personal and non-transferable so it is necessary to prove identity and date of birth by presenting ID, passport or residence certificate.
Tickets are not obtained immediately. There are several types of shipping, ranging from "Budget shipping", free and taking about 11 business days, to "Premium shipping", the fastest with 3 days of waiting and tracking for approximately 25 euros. The Interrail ticket always arrives by registered mail.
Preparing the trip on InterRail
It is very important to have the relevant documentation in order. For most European countries, the valid ID is sufficient to pass border controls, however it is advisable to also travel with a passport. In addition, we cannot forget the European Health Insurance Card.
Another of the fundamental steps Before starting the trip is to set a budget for food, accommodation or souvenirs. Although we can have a credit card for unforeseen events, having a budget will avoid us coming back in the red.
Nor can you start Interrail without planning your route first. Since the use of the tickets has a limited time, the most advisable thing is to be clear about which cities to visit each day, avoiding improvisation and making sure that we will see the most important monuments.
Once the destinations have been decided, it is also important to decide the type of accommodation, keeping several options in mind to avoid wasting time looking for the right place. In general, an InterRail traveler tends to opt for youth hostels, although many also opt for cheap hostels. You can also sleep on night trains, making the most of this transport to move and rest at the same time.
When we get off a train we already begin to visit the city and do not stop until night, so it is important to have enough strength to resist the long days of tourism. Do not forget that Interrail has no breaks.
Luggage during Interrail
The key to InterRail is to carry light luggage. One trick is to avoid bringing things that can be bought in the country you are visiting, such as sunscreen, shampoo or toothpaste. As for clothing, carrying light luggage means reducing the amount of clothing that is put in the backpack as much as possible.
Route proposal
Once we have our Global Pass, an interesting route that could be done during Interrail departing from Spain is: Paris- Brussels- Bruges- Amsterdam- Berlin- Dresden- Prague- Munich- Zurich- Nice. From Nice you can reach Spain by train entering through Catalonia. What are you wanting to do?